Oven



0. S. SLEEPER.

OVEN.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 9. I917.

Patented 1m. 14,1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

O. S. SLEEPER.

' OVEN.

APPLIC AT|0N FILED MAY 9. 1917.

' 3 SHEETS-SHE jfiarn 6 95.

0. S. SLEEPER.

OVEN.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 9, 19H.

Patented Dec. 14, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- N w z I w x Q w 5 mm: w z i; RN

UNEFED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OLIVER S. SLEEPER, OF BUFFALO,

NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO BUFFALO FOUNDRY &

MACHINE COMPANY, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

OVEN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 14, 1920.

Application filed May 9, 1917. Serial No. 167,461.

To all wfwm it may concern:

Be it known that I, OLIVER S. SLEEPER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Ovens, of which the following is a specification. i

This invention relates to an oven which is more particularly designed for baking, drying, cooking, vaporizing or distilling heavy liquids or materials requiring a comparatively high degree of temperature.

In order to treat such materials which require a higher degree of heat for securing vaporization than is obtainable by the use of steam heat the present oven has been provided which is capable of baking, cooking, drying, distilling or vaporizing such materials efficiently, economically and expeditiously.

In the accompanying drawings: F igure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of one form of oven embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section thereof taken on line 22, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section of the same taken on line 33, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section taken on line M, Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is -a fragmentary vertical transverse section, similar to Fig. 3 showing a. modificationof my invention. Fig. 6 is a fragmentary section taken on line 66, Fig. 5.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, 1 represents the main housing or casing of the oven which is preferably constructed of brick and forms a heating chamber having a front upright inlet section or manifold and a rear upright outlet section or manifold 3.

The heat for drying, cooking or vaporizing.

the material which is to be treated may be supplied to the inlet manifold or section of the heating chamber by any suitable means but preferably by means of a; furnace 4- which has a brick setting :and provided at its front end with a fuel inlet opening normally closed by a door 5, a. grate 6 upon which the fuel is supported and burned, an outlet or discharge conduit 7 at its rear end which opens into the lower part of the front heating manifold, and an ash pit 8 which is arranged below the grate and from which the ashes are removed throughan opening at the front of the furnace which is normall closed by a door 9. At the upper end of the outlet manifold of the heating chamber the rear wall of the latter is provided with a heat outlet opening 10 through which the spent products of combustionof the furnace are discharged and which preferably com municates with a smoke stack or chimney not shown in the drawings.

lVithin the heating chamber is arranged a retort whereby the material to be treated is supported in such position that the heat of the furnace in passing from the inlet and outlet sections of the heating chamber is acted upon by this heat and thereby dried, cooked or vaporized, this retort being so or anized that the compartments which receive the material to .be treated are accessible from the exterior of the oven independently of the heat conducting passages in order to enable this material to be introduced into the oven and removed therefrom, and these compartments being also connected with an exhausting device so that the drying, cooking and vaporization of this material may be effected in a vacuum.

In the preferred construction of this retort the same comprises a hollow cellular body 11 preferably constructedof cast metal and extending transversely across the heat ing chamber between the front inlet manifold and the rear outlet manifold thereof. This body is provided with a plurality of horizontal fines or heat conducting fines, ducts or passages 12 which are arranged in a vertical row and extend from the front to the rear side of this body and the upper and lower ends of this body vare separated from the top and bottom of the heating chamber so as to form upper and lower heat conduct ing passages, ducts or flues 13, 14-, which extend horizontally from the front or inlet section to the rear or outlet section of the heating chamber. By this means the heat of the furnace as it passes rearwardly through these several heat conducting flues envelops the entire retort excepting the opposite lateral ends thereof which extend to the :ex terior of the brick setting or housing of the heating chamber.

Within the body of the retort the same is provided with a plurality of material drying, cooking or vaporizing compartments or chambers 15 which are arranged in ,a vertical row and alternate with the heat conducting passages 12, 13, 14:, these compartments extending transversely through the supporting body or in other words at right angles to the direction of the heat conducting passages. The material to be treated may be introduced into these compartments through an inlet opening arranged at one of the lat eral ends of the body which opening 1s normally closed by means of a door 16 connected at one of its vertical edges with the corresponding edge of the retort by means of a hinge 17 while its opposite vertical edge is detachably connected with the cor responding edge of the retort by means of clamping bolts 18, as shown in Fig. 2. The opposite lateral ends of the compartments may be closed by a cover 19 which is preferably detachably connected with the body by means of bolts 20 although, if desired this end of the retort may also be closed by a door similar to the door 16.

During the operation of this apparatus a vacuum is produced within the several drying, cooking and vaporizing compartments for the purpose of accelerating the effect of the heat on the material which is being treated, this vacuum being produced for instance by means of an exhaust device connecting by means of pipes 21, 22 with openings 23, 24: in the upper and lower parts of the cover 19, as shown in Fig. 8. The exhausting device may be of any suitable character such as a condenser having a dry vacuum pump which evacuates the drying compartments and causes any vapor which is given off from the material under treatment to be rapidly drawn off and thus expedite the drying or cooking of this material.

Upon opening the door 16 access is afforded to the interior of the several drying compartments throughout the entire height and width of the retort which permits easy loading of the material into the drying compartments and also unloading of the same after the drying operation has been completed. Y Vhen treating certain kinds of material such as sulfanilic acid or naphthionic acid the same may be first placed in suitable trays or pans 25 which are deposited upon the lower sides of the drying compartments, the bottoms of these compartments serving as a plurality of supporting shelves for this purpose, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. After the apparatus is loaded with a charge of the material which is to be treated the heat from the furnace is distributed by the inlet manifold 2 into the front ends of the several heat conducting passages, then passes rearwardly through the latter and into the outlet manifold 3 from which the spent gases pass out through the outlet opening 10 to the exterior of the oven and to a stack or chimney provided for this purpose. While the hot gases are thus passing rearwardly through the heating chamber and the retort each of the drying compartments is heated from its upper and lower sides so that the material within the drying compartments is subjected to the maximum drying efiect of this heating medium and the drying of the material is effected expeditiously and economically.

For the purpose of strengthening the retort and preventing the horizontal walls thereof between the heat conducting passages and the drying compartments from becoming distorted a plurality of stays 26 are preferably arranged in each of the heat conducting passages which stays are preferably staggered and distributed over the entire area of each heating passage. For convenience of manufacture and simplicity of construction the walls of the heat passages and drying compartments and the stays are preferably constructed integrally of cast metal.

In order to secure more even distribution of the hot gases from the furnace among the different heat passages of the retort a baffle plate 27 is arranged vertically in the inlet manifold between the outlet of the furnace and the adjacent front ends of the lower heat passages, this baffle being preferably supported from the adjacent part of the retort by means of brackets 28 and provided in its rear side with ribs 29 which operate to stiffen the baffle and reduce its tendency to warp under the action of the hot gases delivered against the same.

For the purpose of further insuring a uniform distribution of the heating gases among the several heat passages a plurality of clampers or valves 30 are provided each of which is adapted to obstruct the rear or outlet end of each heating passage more or less as may be necessary to obtain the proper flow of hot through the respective heating passage. Each of these dampers is preferably pivoted at its upper end so that its lower part may be swung vertically toward and from the outlet ends of the respective heating passage. As shown in the drawings, these dampers excepting the uppermost one are hinged or pivoted on the rear side of the retort while the uppermost damper is pivotally supported on the top of the heating chamber. Individual adjustment of these dampers is effected by means of a horizontal shifting rod 31 extending through the rear wall of the heating chamber and pivotally connected at its front end with the low part of one of the dampers while its outer end is provided with a handle 32 for manipulating the same. These several shifting rods may be held individually in their adjusted position by means of clamping bolts 33 each of which passes through a guide sleeve 34: mounted externally on the rear wall of the heating chamber and receiving the adjacent part of the shifting rod, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Each of the dampers preferably terminates at its opposite vertical edges short of the vertical longitudinal sides of the companion heat conducting passage so that each of these is always open fully at opposite vertical sides of its outlet end, as shown in Figs. 2 and t, thereby causing the hot'gases at all times to fiow toward the opposite vertical sides of each flue upon moving from the front inlet to the rear outlet end thereof and insuring a uniform distribution of these gases over the entire heating passage so as to secure a uniform action of the same on the material in the adjacent drying compartments. This also prevents the operator from fully shutting the outlet of any one of the heating passages and cutting the same off from the exhaust outlet and thereby preventing any of the hot gases from backing up in any particular heating passage and producing objectionable results which otherwise might occur.

The even shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, is more particularly designed for use in drying, cooking or vaporizing materials in batches but if this invention is to be utilized for effecting continuous drying, cooking or vaporization the same may be organized, as shown in F 5 and 6. In the construction shown in the last mentioned figures the liquid material which is to be desiccated is delivered by means of a supply pipe 35 through the top of the retort into a dis tributing trough 36 arranged transversely at one end of the bottom or shelf of the uppermost drying compartment and then flows lengthwise over this bottom and discharges into a distributing trough 36 arranged transversely at the opposite end of the bottom or shelf of the next lower drying compartment. The liquid material under treatment then flows in like manner from the tail end of the second drying: compartment into a distributing trough 36 at the head end of the bottom of the neXt lower compartment from which latter the material flows into another distributing trough 36 at the head end of the next lower compartment, this operation being repeated for each drying compartment in the manner described so that the liquid under treatment takes a serpentine or zig-zag course from the top to the bottom of the drying rack and is finally delivered from the bottom of the lowermost compartment through a discharge pipe 37. When the last mentioned construction is employed suitable vacuum valves are employed in inlet and outlet pipes 35, 3'7, so as to avoid breaking the vacuum while the material is delivered into the retort and delivered therefrom. In order to insure a uniform distribution of the material over the bottom of each drying compartment the outlet side of each distributing trough is provided with a plurality of notches 38 which are arranged in a horizontal row, as shown in Fig. 5 which notches operate to deliver parts of the liquid under treatment over the entire bottom surface of each drying compartment. As the liquid'to be dried flows over each of these bottoms the same is maintained in a uniformly distributed condition by means of longitudinal ribs 39 arranged on each of these bottoms. In order to compel the liquid to drip properly from the tail end of each compartment into the distributing trough below the same or upon the bottom of the lowermost compartment instead of creeping partly along the upper side of each compartment, a drip flange 10 is provided at the tail end of each compartment which causes the liquid to drop promptly on to the surface immediately below the same where the liquid is intended to be received.

This apparatus permits of drying, cooking, vaporizin or distilling a comparatively large volume of material rapidly and thoroughly and with a minimum expenditure of fuel and also enables the material to be conveniently loaded in the retort and unloaded therefrom, thereby enabling such materials to be treated at much lower cost than has been possible by the use of means heretofore employed for this purpose.

I claim as my invention:

An oven comprising a heating chamber, and a retort extending across said chamber and forming a' heat inlet manifold and a heat outlet manifold on the front and rear sides of the retort for the heating gases, said retort being provided with a plurality of longitudinal heating passages which are arranged in a vertical row and extend from said heat inlet manifold to said heat outlet manifold and also provided with a plurality of drying compartments extending transversely of said heating passages and arranged in a vertical row and alternating with said heating passages, said compartments being permanently disconnected from said heating passages and accessible from the exterior of the oven through an opening in the side of the retort, and a door for closing said opening, a furnace having a heat delivery conduit communicating with said heat inlet manifold, and a vertical baffle ar ranged in said heat inlet manifold between said heat delivery conduit and the adjacent heating passages of the retort, and extending at its upper and lower ends above and below said heat delivery conduit.

OLIVER S. SLEEPER. 

